Hiring a locksmith is not just another service that you want to avail. A lot of things lie in how this craftsment handle your needs which includes a lot of aspects including your convenience and security considering that they are permitted to duplicate keys that could gain access to either your house, office or your car which means you rely your security and safety to them. The worst case scenario would be that they would take advantage of your needs and use it against you.
That is why it is important to hire a reliable and reputable locksmith rather than hiring shady locksmiths that might cause you more problems because believe it or not fake locksmiths do exist sadly and for sure these kind of people won’t hesitate to do something bad to your or your family.
In this article, let me show you the signs of a fake locksmith so that you’ll be aware next time you need to duplicate your keys.
- FAMILIARIZE THEIR ADDRESS– Reputable locksmiths often provide contact details to their customers so that every time they are needed, they’re just a phone away. The fake locksmith, on the other hand, gives you fake contact numbers and fake addresses just to make them look legitimate. They often provide you with fake contact information so that when they’re done victimizing you, they’ll be difficult to find. Reputable locksmiths, meanwhile, gives you a full and complete contact information and often times they also have a website and most of all they have a physical office or shop where their customers can visit during business hours. Reputable locksmiths can be contacted by their customers in times of emergency so you have to remember this things in spotting the reals ones versus the fake ones.
- CHECK THEIR VEHICLE– A reputable locksmith has stickers and contact numbers or other information printed in their vehicle to promote their company to everyone. A locksmith’s vehicle must be seen parked at their office and should be regularly brought to the site of the job. You should feel wary if your locksmith doesn’t have a company vehicle or if you see them a vehicle that doesn’t have any name of the company neither contact numbers. Also, a locksmith only uses a single vehicle for their work; you should feel suspicious if they change vehicles every now and then.
- CHECK FOR IDENTIFICATION– A reputable locksmith will always provide you their identification when they’re working on the field. It sound’s unnecessary but legitimate locksmiths instantly provide their customers their identifications to prove that they’re the ones who are sent to do the job. If they don’t represent one, ask them, if they can’t provide you one then you should feel wary.
- ASK FOR SERVICE RATE/ PRICE QUOTE– In this case, you should proactively ask them for their service rates and other fees. They should provide you a list of their service rates and fees to provide you an overview of your projected expenses. If they only give you their service rates just by talking to you, then you should feel suspicious especially if they ask you for cheap services. What I mean is that not all cheap locksmith are scammers but as we all know, most people who offer fake services offer their customers cheaper service rates and prices to entice more people to become their victim.